In order to automate pool cleaning, many motorized or automatic pool cleaners have been developed. There are many different types of swimming pool cleaners; however, typically, motorized pool cleaners (also referred to as pool cleaning robots) are manufactured, assembled, and delivered as a ready to use or nearly ready to use pool cleaner (e.g., with zero or minor consumer assembly required). Over time, these pool cleaning robots will generally require some maintenance, part replacement, or some other repair due to the wear and tear associated with the underwater cleaning environment.
Unfortunately, since pool cleaning robots may be quite complicated and may be pre-assembled, this maintenance frequently requires an end user to transport the robot to a mechanic, the manufacturer, or some other specialized technical service provider familiar with the robot. Alternatively, an end-user may attempt to disassemble a pool robot with tools to try to assess and fix the problems on their own. However, often, an end user can only disassemble a small portion of the robot because the major components have been coupled together with specialized tools (e.g., tools machined or developed specifically for assembling/disassembling this particular robot). Moreover, even if the end user can determine the problem, a part or portion of the robot may be broken and, thus, may require a user to identify and order the correct replacement part. Consequently, regardless of how an end-user attempts to resolve a maintenance issue, an end-user will often be without a pool cleaning robot for an extended period of time, even when the maintenance issue is only a minor issue, such as replacing a broken brush. This is especially problematic in colder climates where the pool season many only last a few months.
Moreover, as technology advances, new parts, programming, and configurations may be developed for pool cleaning robots. These advancements may improve various aspects of pool cleaning (e.g., ability to navigate different pool shapes, clean different pool surfaces, increased robot efficiency or power, etc.); however, most pool cleaning robots cannot be upgraded and, instead, must be replaced to provide such a technological upgrade. In fact, many pool cleaning robots cannot even be reconfigured and, thus, are only useful for certain types or shapes of pools and may require a user to buy different robots for different pools or cleaning jobs. For example, many pool cleaning robots are provided by the manufacturer to the end-user in a compact, ready-to-use way, and the end user is given little or no choice on how to configure of the robot. Then, if a user notices a problem with the robot, the user has no options for adjusting the robot to try to overcome the problem (and the user may also be unable to return or exchange the robot since the problems may only become apparent during extended underwater use).
In view of at least the aforementioned issues, a modular pool cleaning robot that includes easily replaceable and/or interchangeable parts and allows for various end-user selectable configurations is desirable.